Did someone say free plugin? Grab Waves's bonkers distortion plugin Berzerk for nothing, exclusively for MusicRadar readers (2024)

There’s nothing better than getting new music gear for free, so we’ve teamed up with Waves to offer MusicRadar readers Waves Berzerk, completely free of charge for 48 hours. Berzerk is a killer distortion plugin that can completely destroy your original signal with distortion, providing you with loads of creative options to twist your sounds in both stereo and mono. We’re giving it away for free this weekend only, so you’ll need to act fast to claim your license.

Waves usually only gives away free plugins as part of their Black Friday plugin deals, so this is a proper score. Berzerk is currently on sale at $29.99, but claim it today via our link and you'll pay nothing.

We're only offering the plugin until 1400 BST/0900 EST on the 9th of June, so move quickly to grab yours.

How to claim your free plugin

Follow our link, then simply sign into your Waves account and your license will be added to your Waves Central app.

If you don’t have a free Waves account already, you’ll be prompted to create one and the license will be added once you're signed up. Simple!

5 reasons to download Berzerk (for free) today...

When Waves presented MusicRadar with the list of plugins we could offer our readers for free, Berzerk was the unanimous choice. If you’re not convinced by a free plugin - seriously? - then we’ve listed five reasons we love Berzerk, and why you'll love it too:

1. Did we mention it’s free?

Even if you’re not sure you’re going to use it every day, a free plugin is a free plugin. Plugins take up minimal space on your hard drive and having some choice is always nice when you’re putting together your latest mix. You never know when you might want to try something a little more left-field to get that song over the line, and we love having new toys to experiment with.

2. It livens up 808s

Whack Berzerk on an 808 and you can change it from a dull lifeless tone to something super grimey. Berzerk can add a sine wave to your original source via the feedback section, drastically changing your sound, all pitched to the same note your 808 is in. You can even get a really cool divebomb sound by setting a high and low octave, as well as adding different shapes from some properly out-there sounds.

3. It can process in stereo

Berzerk features stereo, mid, and side modes so you can add distortion to certain elements rather than processing the whole sound. If you have a melody that’s not quite hitting, some side processing can really help push it forward without necessarily killing the original vibe of the sample. You can take it a step further by combining it with the dynamics processing, so the distortion is only applied when your mid or side frequencies cross a certain volume threshold.

4. It'll give you thicker basslines

Berzerk isn’t just for mangling sounds, it can also be used more subtly to help a certain element cut through. It works great on basslines, allowing you to make your low end more present on smaller speakers without having to crank the gain. The dynamics processing works well here again, as you can apply the distortion to only the high or low frequencies of your signal, as well as using the mix knob to blend with your original sound for even more flexibility.

5. Morphing distortion

With ten different waveforms to distort your sounds, plus the ability for them to morph, Berzerk lets you get really creative no matter what your source sounds are. It’s a versatile plugin that will work on pretty much anything, great when you need a little extra to make a sound stand out. Plus if all else fails, you can just hit the ‘Go!’ button and dial up the intensity knob to completely mangle your sound.

So, what are you waiting for. Add Berzerk to your arsenal for free today.